Cairo, March 20

An Egyptian court ordered today the suspension of licences for ride-hailing companies Uber and Careem after taxi drivers filed a lawsuit seeking to shutdown operations of the two firms in Egypt, judicial sources said.

The case was taken up in April last year, said Khalid al-Jamal, a lawyer acting for taxi drivers who filed the case.

The case against the two firms argued the ride-hailing services were illegally using private cars as taxis.

Today’s decision was effective immediately, meaning the firms must suspend services pending a final ruling, but it can be appealed within 60 days, judicial sources said.

It was not immediately clear when a final ruling would be issued on the case.

Careem said it had not yet received any official request to stop operations in Egypt, and continued to operate as normal. Uber issued no immediate response.

Uber said last year it was committed to Egypt despite challenges presented by sweeping economic reforms and record inflation. Uber in October announced $20 million of investment in its new support centre in Cairo.